# Vector Vulcan = Garbage



## Adam (Jun 17, 2010)

Ok so I go to the good old tribal B&M (best shop in the area by far) last week to get a lighter and some burnables, and after looking through the displays I pick up a Vector Vulcan triple torch lighter. I take it home, play with it for a day or two, refill it once, play with it some more and emptied it again last night. So I go to refill it for the second time and it's not taking any fuel. It's all just pooling and bubbling in the bottom of the lighter. Not only that, but the thing won't light at all unless you have it turned all the way up. Even a smidge less on the dial and theres no flame. Well anyway, I take it back today at lunch and after the lady at the desk plays with it a bit, they exchange it for a new one. Awesome. She even called it, and I quote "A piece of crap". She gets me a new lighter and now I'm in a good mood. After this I take the new one back to work with me, and I purposely play with it enough to see that it still won't light unless turned all the way up. Groan... After playing with it some more, it's on E. I grab the bottle of butane, hold it with my shoes just in case, and what do you know... Bubbling pool of non-refilled butane... I'm heading back to the res after work and am returning the crappy thing and hopefully getting a Xikar. Don't buy one of these things if you like your lighters to actually work. And sorry for the giant wall o' text...


----------



## Enlil (Jun 10, 2010)

I have no experience with vector lighters, but I love their butane. It sounds from your description that butane is spilling out of the can, but not making it through the valve into the lighter. Vector butane cans come with a handfull of adapters. There are some lighters that are impossible to refill without the correct one of those adapters (like dunhills). I wouldnt think that you would need to have one of the adapters in place to refill a vector lighter from a vector butane can, but then again maybe so.

Wont light unless the flame height is adjusted to max sounds like just classic indicator that lighter is low on fuel (but you are aware that it isnt filling properly so thats a wash).

My gut feeling though is to wonder if the butane can was at room temperature (cool to the touch) and the lighter slightly warmer (pocket temperature).

Why were you holding the lighter (I presume it was the lighter) between your shoes?


----------



## CraigJS (Dec 23, 2009)

Did you purge the air out of the lighter before trying to refill it? They can get air locked and be a PITA to fill properly. Also use the best fuel possible, multi filtered stuff. It costs more but you get far better results.
Vector, Vulcan, to name a couple.


----------



## Adam (Jun 17, 2010)

Yep. All the air was purged. Even the lady at the B&M checked that and there was none left. I did some looking around on the web and only found one review elsewhere and all it said was "After the first refill it never worked the same". As for fluid, I was using King triple filtered. I know it isn't the best, but it's what they had when I got the thing and what they used to test the lighters when I took them back. I ended up exchangin it for a Colibri Talon since it was in the same price range. We'll see how this one works.


----------



## Adam (Jun 17, 2010)

I was holding the lighter between my shoes because it was spraying on my hands and I wasn't liking that, lol.


----------



## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Been there before. I love their fuel and use it all the time along with any other 5X butane. The trouble with some lighters is the seals inside. I have a lot of lighters and started playing around with them because i would run into the "issues" as you have. What happens sometimes is the seals inside the lighter get blown out or are dried out or degrade. It's entirely possible that some lighters are kept in a storage area where the environment isn't altogether appropriate for storage...the seals over time dry out and then the first time it's recharged the seal blows and you start hearing that hissing sound which means it won't take a charge anymore. I've actually gone thru one of my old Vector lighters and the seal was dry and falling apart so I put in a new seal...put it all back together and I recharged it...voila'...new lighter that works.

It's the same principal in just about any line of storage...I bought a washer and dryer some time back and thought I was getting a brand new set...it was but it sat in a dry storage warehouse for 2 years and when I bought it was "declared" brand new because obviously it was never run thru a cycle but it sat on concrete in a warehouse for that long. The seals degraded in the washer and were dried out..etc etc and long story short I did some exploring and ran the numbers on this model. Come to find out it was made 2 years prior to the year I bought it and stormed into the store who sold it to me ( Sears ) and asked the manager why I was sold a 3 year old washer and dryer set? Long story short...got a brand new upgraded washer and dryer with the proof that it was only 6 months old. Moral of the story,,,every product has their "Born on Date" so have them show it to you if possible.


----------

